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A Statistical Test for Legal Interpretation: Theory and Applications

Author

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  • Julian Nyarko
  • Sarath Sanga

Abstract

Many questions of legal interpretation hinge on whether two groups of people assign different meanings to the same word. For example: Do 18th- and 21st-century English speakers assign the same meaning to commerce? Do judges and laypersons agree on what makes conduct reasonable? We propose a new statistical test to answer such questions. In three applications, we use our test to (1) quantify differences in the meanings of specialized words from civil procedure, (2) identify statistically significant differences between judges and laypersons’ understandings of reasonable and consent, and (3) assess differences across various effort standards in commercial contracts (phrases like best effort and good faith effort). Our approach may be readily applied outside the law to quantify semantic disagreements between or within groups. (JEL C10, C12, C55, K12, K41).

Suggested Citation

  • Julian Nyarko & Sarath Sanga, 2022. "A Statistical Test for Legal Interpretation: Theory and Applications," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 38(2), pages 539-569.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jleorg:v:38:y:2022:i:2:p:539-569.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/jleo/ewab038
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C10 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - General
    • C12 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Hypothesis Testing: General
    • C55 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Large Data Sets: Modeling and Analysis
    • K12 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Contract Law
    • K41 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Litigation Process

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